A perennial question in business ethics concerns the extent to which business firms and organizations have moral responsibilities—or not. In philosophical terms, the question is whether organizations themselves have “moral agency.” The view that firms possess moral qualities of this kind is strongly advocated by a number of leading scholars. An opposing view maintains that only individual human beings can be said correctly to have moral and ethical responsibilities. This book brings together the strongest voices on both sides of this important debate. The contributions here illustrate the lead ... More

A perennial question in business ethics concerns the extent to which business firms and organizations have moral responsibilities—or not. In philosophical terms, the question is whether organizations themselves have “moral agency.” The view that firms possess moral qualities of this kind is strongly advocated by a number of leading scholars. An opposing view maintains that only individual human beings can be said correctly to have moral and ethical responsibilities. This book brings together the strongest voices on both sides of this important debate. The contributions here illustrate the leading arguments on each side. They also advance nuanced approaches to the issue that point the way toward new directions for future research. Although the debate is primarily a theoretical one, its outcome has great significance for practice. If a business firm is deemed to be morally compromised, for example, then its products and services may deserve to be “shunned” or boycotted. There are also significant legal consequences, and different societies currently hold different positions. In the United States, firms can be found legally culpable for immoral acts. Other countries such as Germany have refused to accept the idea that a firm itself can have moral and therefore legal culpability, focusing instead on the culpability of the individuals in firms who act wrongfully. High profile cases of ethical and legal malfeasance discussed in the book include BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill and Volkswagen’s alleged environmental fraud involving diesel-powered cars designed to avoid pollution regulations.